Garment hanger

ABSTRACT

A two-piece garment hanger including a rod-supported suspension hook part and a garment-supporting body part attached thereto. In a preferred form, the hook part releasably and frictionally grips the body part. In another form, the body part is captured by the hook part. In a third form, the body part is freely and removably suspended from the hook part.

I United States Patent [191 [111 3,792,894 Ponzo Feb. 19, 1974 [5 GARMENT HANGER 2,774,526 12/1956 Reuer 223/89 Inventor: Nicholas n 4} FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Rsevelt west Chlcago, 146,335 7 1954 Sweden 248/340 60135 1,445 1/1895 Great Britain J 19 983,036 France [21] Appl' 263939 Primary Examiner-George H. Krizmanich [52] US. Cl 223/85, 211/113, 248/340 57 R C [51] Int. Cl. A47 51/142 [58] Field of Search 223/85, 87, 88, 91, 89; A garment hanger a 248/215 340 24/249 SA 155 supported suspension hook part and a garment- 1 2112119 supporting body part attached thereto. In a preferred form, the hook part releasably and frictionally grips [56] References Cited the body part. In another form, the body part is cap- UNITED STATES PATENTS tured by the hook part. In a third form, the body part 15 freely and removably suspended from the hook part. 3,527,358 9/1970 Wheeler 223/85 X 1,760,290 5/1930 Tammarazzo 223/88 X 1 Claim, 6 Drawing Figures GARMENT HANGER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to garment hangers and, in its preferred form, has particular reference to a novel two-piece separable garment hanger of the rodsuspended, triangular loop wire type embodying a spring suspension hook or handle portion which releasably and frictionally grips the neck portion of the hanger loop in supporting relationship while allowing rotational or swivelling movement of the latter.

2. Description of the Prior Art There has long been in use a wire' garment hanger which consists of a single length of wire stock, bent to generally triangular configuration to provide a closed loop, and twisted at its end regions to close the loop and establish a reinforced neck from which there projects upwardly a suspension hook, whereby the hanger may be supported on a clothes rod or the like. Such a hanger has become thoroughly standardized and it is produced so inexpensively that it frequently is a give-away item in many cleaning establishments. De-

spite its popularity, this type of garment hanger is possessed of certain limitations, principal among whichis the fact that the suspension hook and the closed triangular loop lie in the same plane, thus constraining the garment which is draped over the loop to lie in a plane which extends transversely of the overhead clothes rod. Thus, when a number of the hangers are supported on the rod in close proximity to one another, as for example on a display rack in a clothing store, inspection of a given garment may be made only by either lifting the hanger from the clothes rod, or by removing the garment from the hanger. Where such a hanger is in domestic use, it frequently becomes expedient for the user to set out a garment at bed time for morning use by twisting the hook relative to the garment-supporting loop so that the hanger may be suspended from the edge of a partially opened'drawer or other supporting surface that requires such twisting of the hook. Since such hangers are formed of low grade steel, repetitious twisting of the hook in this manner soon ruptures the hanger so that it must be discarded.

Another and serious limitation which is present in connection with wire hangers resides in the fact that where. a number of garments are suspended in side-byside fashion from a clothes rod, the suspension hook of one hanger inadvertently becomes hooked over the suspension hook of the next adjacent hanger so that entangling of such hangers takes place. Manipulations in an effort to untangle the hangers frequently results in damage to the garments which are supported thereby.

Another and serious limitation which is present in connection with wire hangers resides in the fact that the suspension hooks of the hangers are easily dislodged from the clothes rod under conditions of movement as experienced in airplanes, boats, vehicles, and the like with resulting damage to the garments supported thereby.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is designed to overcome the above-noted limitations that are attendant upon the construction and use of garment hangers of the twisted wire, triangular loop type and, toward this end, the in- 2 vention contemplates the provision of a novel twopiece garment hanger including hook part and a generally triangular body part which is suspended from the hook part in a manner permitting, if desired, body part to be rotated about a vertical axis so that it may assume any desired garment-viewing angle.

In a preferred form of the invention, the two parts are separable and the body part is frictionally gripped by the hook part but is capable of being released therefrom by the simple expedient of manually flexing the hook part. In a modified form of the invention, the body part is capable of release from the hook part by swinging the body part from its normal vertical plane to a position of release. In another modified form of the invention, the body part is permanently captured by the hook part.

In all of the illustrated forms of the invention, the body part, in the main, remains substantially the same as the body part of the aforementioned standardized wire garment hanger so that economy of manufacture is preserved. Additionally, in all such illustrated forms, the hook part closely hugs the clothes rod on which it is supported and is of appreciable width so that the hook curve remains at all times coaxial with the clothes rod and cannot become entangled with an adjacent hook part.

Still further, the hook part, being of appreciable width as stated above, prevents the garments on adjacent hangers from beingcrowded together when adjacent garment hangers are brought into contiguity on the clothes rod. Thus adjacent garments are capable of being swung apart without disturbing the positions of the gannent hangers on the clothes rod for limited inbetween garment viewing purposes.

Still further, as the hook part always closely hugs the clothes rod and remains securely thereon, the body part and garments supported thereon will not become dislodged from the clothes rod under conditions of extreme or erratic motion, such'as experienced in airplanes, boats, vehicles, and the like.

The provision of a garment hanger such as has briefly been outlined above, and possessing the stated advantages, constitutes the principal feature of the present invention. The provision of a garment hanger which is extremely simple in its construction and which therefore may be manufactured at a low cost; one which is rugged and durable and which therefore will withstand rough usage; one which may, in its entirety, be manufactured as original garment hanger equipment, or in which a conventional wire garment hanger may, by the simple expedient of cutting off the hook part thereof, serve as the body part of the hanger; and one which, otherwise, is well adapted to perform the servicesrequired of it, are further desirable features which have been borne in mind in the production and development of the present invention.

Other features and advantages of this invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS .In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, and in which like reference characters FIG. 2, showing a slightly 'the suspension region of the hanger, showing the same operatively suspended from a horizontal clothes rod;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view, similar to modified form of suspension hook; I

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the suspension region of a garment hanger embodying a further modified form of the invention and showing the same operatively applied to a supporting rod, and

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view, similar to FIG. 5, showing another modified form of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings in detail and in particstruction and is comprised of a single length of wire,

stock bent into the form of a generally triangular loop so as to provide a pair of outwardly and downwardly diverging arms 16 for supporting the shoulder portions of a coat or similar garment, and an interconnecting horizontal crossbar 18 for supporting trousers, a skirt or the like. The ends of the loop aretwisted together as indicated at 20 as is conventional in order to maintain the loop closed. One end region of the length of wire stock projects upwardly a slight distance and provides a linearly straight neck 22 by means of which the body 12 may be adjustably supported from the suspension hook or handle 14. l

The suspension hook part or handle 14 is in the form of a shaped length or strip of resilient material which, preferably, is formed of spring steel or other metal stock, but which if desired may be of a suitable plastic material such as Lucite. When comprised of metal, the hook part or handle 14 may be cut and shaped from flat ribbon stock or, alternatively, it may be comprised of a sheet'metal stamping. In the case of a plastic hook part, the same may be shaped from extruded plastic stock. Irrespective however of the particular material from which the hook part is formed, the essential features of the invention remain the same.

The hook part 14 is provided with a curved hook or bight portion 24, one end of'which terminates in a relatively short flat guide wing or leg 26, the other end merging on a curved bias as indicated at 28 with an angular neck-supporting locking part or leg 30 including an upper proximate section 32 and a lower distal section' 34. The upper section 32 is provided with a small diameter hole 36 in the medial region thereof, while the lower section 34 is similarly provided with a small diameter hole 38 in the medial region thereof, the two holes being in general vertical alignment insofar as their disposition is concerned.

As shown in FIG. 2, the hook portion 24 of the suspension hook part or handle 14 is designed for reception over a fixed supporting rod 40 which may be a conventional clothes rod or closet pole, a rack bar or the like. The distance between the guide wing 26 and the opposed portion 28 of the hook part 14 is somewhat less than the diameter of the rod 40 so that the hook part may readily be applied to-the rod 40 by manually forcing the hook loop over the rod, whereupon the guide wing 26 will yield to the applied pressure and the hook part will snap into position on the rod with the hook loop encircling a major circle sector of the rod so that there is little likelihood of thehook part becoming accidently dislodged from the rod.

When the hook part 14 and garment-supporting body part 12 are assembled upon each other, the neck 22 projects vertically through both of the holes 36 and 38 and spring flexion in the locking part 30 is relied upon to cause the edges of the two holes to bind against the opposite sides of the wire material of the neck with sufficient frictional force that the neck will not slip downwardly regardless of the load on the body part 12, with such force permitting substantially unimpeded rotational or swivelling movement of the body part about the vertical axis of the neck 22.

Under certain circumstances it is contemplated that the assembled garment hanger 10 will remain in its assembled condition and thus the swivelling action set forth above will facilitate application of a garment or garments, or removal thereof to and from the hanger without necessitating removal of the hook part [4 from the rod 40. Additionally, this swivel action will enable a detailed inspection of a given garment without removal of the hook'part from the rod, such inspection being attained by the simple expedient of rotating the body part 12, with the garment supported thereon, to a position wherein the plane of the triangular loop 'lies substantially in the vertical plane of the rod 40. Where relatively close spacing between a multiplicity of the garment hangers 10 on a single'supporting rod is resorted to, adequate garment inspection for the purposes of selecting a given garment may quickly be made by sliding adjacent garment hangers apart to establish sufficient clearance that the particulargarment to be inspected may be turned to a convenient angle for garment recognition.

If, as for example, in a clothing sales room such as a dress shop or the like, it is desired to withdraw a particular garment in a series of stored garments from its supporting rod for transfer to a temporary rack where it is more convenient for display or inspection purposes, the hook part 14 of the hanger may be forcibly withdrawn from the supporting rod 40 and the entire garment hanger 10, with the garment thereon, transported to the temporary rack and the hook part 14 applied to the rack in the manner previously set forth.

Under certain circumstances it may be found expedient to obtain access to a given garment by withdrawing the body part 12 from the hook part 14, as for example where a garment is secured in position by pins or the like, or where it is enclosed in a wrapper that requires careful removal. Under such a condition, separation of the parts may be accomplished byflexing the necksupporting part 30 as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 3, whereupon the binding pressure which is exerted by the two holes 36 and 38 against the neck will be relieved and the body part 12 may bemoved downwardly so as to cause the neck to slide endwise through such holes until the same is released from the hook part 14. Restoration of the two parts 12 and 14 to their assembled condition may be accomplished by a reversal of the procedure set forth above. After flexing of the locking part 30, the neck 22 may be inserted endwise, first through the hole 38 and secondly through the hole 36, after which the locking part 30 may be released so as to bind the neck 22 against downward slippage as previously described.

In FIG. 4 a slightly modified form of garment hanger is shown. In this form of the invention, the body part 112 remains the same as the body part 12, while the hook part 114 is similar to the hook part 14 with the only difference residing in a change in the character of the two holes which are provided in the necksupporting locking part 130. Whereas in the previously described form of the invention the holes 36 and 38 are circular, in the form of the invention shown in FIG. 4, these holes are in the form of horizontally elongated slots 136 and 138. Due to the similarity between the two forms of the invention, and in order to avoid needless repetition of description, similar reference numerals but of a higher order have been applied to the corresponding parts as between the disclosures of FIG. 2 and FIG. 4. The use of horizontally elongated slots in place of small circular holes enables hole location or finding to be more readily attained when assembling the two parts 112 and 114 together, as for example when the assembly is being made in a dimly lighted closet, vehicle, or the like. It will be understood that the width of the slots 136 and 138 is such that the desired binding action will take place against the neck 122 when the neck-supporting locking part 130 is in its free state.

In FIG. 5 a further modified form of the invention is disclosed. In this form of the invention, the curved hook portion proper 224 and the guide wing 226 of the hook part 214 remain substantially the same as the hook portion 24 and guide wing 26 of the previously described form of the invention but, instead of employing a releasable locking part for the neck 222 of the body part 212, the latter part is permanently captured by the hook part 214. Again, in order to avoid needless repetition of description, similar reference numerals but of a still higher order have been applied to the corresponding parts as between the disclosures of FIG. 2 and FIG. 5. In this latter form of the invention, the hook part 214 is provided with a laterally turned suspension ear 235 having a small diameter centrally disposed hole 237 therein. The neck 222 of the body part 212 projects loosely through this hole and is provided with an enlargement 223 at its upper end which rests on the rim of the hole 237 and prevents withdrawal of the neck 222 from the ear 235, while at the same time allowing for swivelling movement of the body part relative to the hook part. The enlargement 223 is shown herein as being in the form of a cup-shaped ball which is secured on the end of the neck 222 but it is within the purview of the invention to employ other forms of enlargements, as for example by flattening the metal of the neck at the distal end thereof.

In FIG. 6 yet another form of the invention is shown.

In this form the hook part 314 remains the same as the hook part 214 of FIG. 5 while the neck 322 of the body part 312 projects throughthe hole 337 in the ear 335 and is formed with a laterally turned end 339 which normally is slidingly supported on the ear 335. Again, due to the similarity of parts as between the disclosures of FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, similar reference numerals of a still higher order have been applied to the corresponding parts. In this latter form of the invention, the laterally tumed end 339 carries the entire weight of the body part 312 and the garment supported thereon while permitting swivelling of the body part relative to the hook part 314. However, if desired, the two parts may readily be separated by swinging the body part through an angle of so as to align the laterally turned end 339 with the hole 337 and then lowering the body part to separate the two parts.

It is to be understood that the form of this invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawings or described in this specification as various changes in the details of constmction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claim. For example, whereas the body parts 12, 112, 212 and 312 have been shown and described herein as being of the closed triangular wire loop type, it is contemplated that if desired the body part may be constructed of wood or a suitable plastic material, the only requisite being that it provide shoulder-supporting diverging side arms and employ a vertical suspension neck.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

l. A two-piece separable garment hanger including a hook part and a garment-supporting body part, said hook part, in its free state, being in the form of a unitary elongated strip of flat resilient material of appreciable width and provided with a reentrant bend therein defining a relatively short leg, a relatively long leg, and an interconnecting bight portion designed for reception over a clothes rod, said long leg being normally of wide angle bowed configuration so as to provide an upper proximate section and a lower distal section, said upper proximate and lower distal sections being each provided with a relatively small hole therethrough in the medial regions thereof, the holes in said upper and lower sections being disposed in vertical alignment, said garment-supporting body part including a pair of downwardly inclined divergent garment shoulder-supporting arms from the juncture region of which there project upwardly and vertically a rod-like suspension neck, said suspension neck projecting through said vertically aligned holes, said long leg-existing under spring flexion, whereby the suspension neck is frictionally and releasably gripped in binding relationship by the rim regions of said holes for immediate release upon manual flexion of said long leg in a direction tending to decrease the wide angle relationship of said proximate and distal sections.

* =l =l =l 

1. A two-piece separable garment hanger including a hook part and a garment-supporting body part, said hook part, in its free state, being in the form of a unitary elongated strip of flat resilient material of appreciable width and provided with a reentrant bend therein defining a relatively short leg, a relatively long leg, and an interconnecting bight portion designed for reception over a clothes rod, said long leg being normally of wide angle bowed configuration so as to provide an upper proximate section and a lower distal section, said upper proximate and lower distal sections being each provided with a relatively small hole therethrough in the medial regions thereof, the holes in said upper and lower sections being disposed in vertical alignment, said garment-supporting body part including a pair of downwardly inclined divergent garment shoulder-supporting arms from the juncture region of which there project upwardly and vertically a rod-like suspension neck, said suspensioN neck projecting through said vertically aligned holes, said long leg existing under spring flexion, whereby the suspension neck is frictionally and releasably gripped in binding relationship by the rim regions of said holes for immediate release upon manual flexion of said long leg in a direction tending to decrease the wide angle relationship of said proximate and distal sections. 